Harry Potter and the Fairy Pendant
by genericbadguy
Summary: Many women give their lives to so that their children may live. What if there were something else involved that made Harry's survival exceptional? A story and a tribute to the one that always helped Harry from the shadows.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Depth and Extent

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter.

Her whole body trembled as she cradled her baby, her precious little Harry, against her chest and kissed his sweet head. She could hear James screaming spells downstairs and things breaking as all the while that evil bastard laughed. She laid her child in his crib and ran her finger down his face. Quickly, she wiped away her tears and took a steadying breath.

She could no longer hear her husband and she knew the charms on the nursery door would not last for long. Turning away from the crib she lifted her wand and began the incantation, drawing the appropriate symbols in the air as it's tip glowed white. The strange figures remained in the air like an after-image before they faded and a small creature stood in front of her.

It was the size of a five year old and had white hair almost as long as the creature was tall. It could almost could have been mistaken as a little girl except that it's ears, teeth and nails were all a little too long, too pointed and sharp. It's irises were the wrong shape and too purple to be human.

"Please," said the woman falling to her knees "You have to help me."

The thing crouched and looked around the room warily.

"What have you summoned me here for woman?!" it hissed "This place reeks of death and danger!"

"You must save my child!" the woman said tears flowing freely now.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to make deals with the fae child!" it sneered. "We are not a kind people in our exchanges. Now release me from the bind of your summon!"

The mother reached out and grasped the faerie's small arm.

"Please, you are my last chance!"

There was a loud thud on the door and the two froze as they stared at it in horror. A second thud shook the entire room. The creature hissed and ripped her arm away.

"Release me woman! I cannot save you from the evil that has come!"

A third thud and the child began to cry. Green eyes looked worriedly at her child for a second and then changed and burned with fierce determination as they looked at the creature again.

"Not me." She said, voice hard as stone. "Just Harry. Just my baby. Please," her voice began to shake "use your power and protect him."

Another thud and they heard something creak, close to breaking. The fae glared at the woman.

"Fae magic does not work like that you red haired woman. My power can only be used in exchange for whatever you are willing to pay. Tell me, child" she said cocking her head to the side "What can you give me?"

She knew that she was being cruel; she was a small faerie because she had no patience for humans and their petty requests. She did not spend her time making uneven bargains like most of her brethren in order to gain power.

But this was the way of things. She could only use what was given to her.

The poor mother looked around her and held out her arms in futility and desperation; distress evident in every line of her face. What could she give?

"Anything." She said thickly "Everything."

The fae breathed in sharply through her teeth. Other faeries only ever dreamed of a human foolish enough to agree to those kind of terms.

The nursery door burst open with explosive sound, raining wooden splinters into the room and revealing a vicious and malevolent man holding out his wand.

The fae hid under the crib in a flash as the woman put herself between the man and her now screaming son.

"No." she said.

"Move aside woman." Said the cold voice of the terror that had come to murder her baby.

"Please, not Harry." Her voice shook.

"I said move!" he hissed.

"NO!" came her resounding cry, the strength and feral defiance of it filling the room.

The fae gasped as the warmth of ancient magic filled the room and a green light flashed and the woman screamed. Her body hit the ground and the faerie was now staring at the woman's wide open and empty eyes. She had been beautiful. Her eyes like gems and her hair falling in heavy tresses the color of a scarlet rose.

These were all things that any fae would have accepted as payment. Now the woman had given them and so much more.

Anything. She had said.

Everything.

The evil one was now standing over the child and laughing as the creature under the bed shook.

She shook with the raw power of a mother's love that she knew that she was only a conduit of. She felt the extreme will to kill build in the man and she cried out as her body dissolved to accomplish what had been commissioned of her.

The blackness stood and cast death and she became an excruciating brightness that rose up to protect the child.

But this wasn't the passive protection that simply accepted the pain unto itself. This power snarled like a mother tiger with bright emerald eyes that batted the death back at it's castor and watched it destroy itself.

It roared at the shadow of what remained and dared it to try and come back.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter.

Chapter two: The Price

The faerie sat on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen of number four Privet Drive and watched Petunia and Vernon Dursley argue.

"You have told me about her kind dear and I won't have it in my house!" yelled Vernon, his second chin trembling in rage.

"She was your sister." Said the fae. Petunia stared at the floor with a pinched, sour expression.

"She was my sister, Vernon." She said.

Her husband blustered and gestured toward the basket on the table that contained a sleeping baby.

"Can't we leave it at some sort of institution?" he asked.

Petunia's eyes wandered over to the child.

"Perhaps." She mumbled.

The fae's eyes snapped to the woman's face, the fireworks of purple and emerald green sparkling dangerously. She jumped down from the fridge gracefully, her white hair, now highlighted with fiery red, trailing behind her. She put on unseen and unfelt hand on Petunia's arm.

"You know why that won't work." Said the faerie threateningly. "Remember the old man's letter."

Petunia bit her lip and slowly shook her head and the fae resisted the urge to scratch the woman's eyes out. She could only work with what she was given and right then there wasn't a lot.

"No." the horse-faced woman finally said. "We will keep him." She held up her hand before Vernon could protest.

"That doesn't mean we have to like it. We just have to make sure that our own dear Dudley is not in any way worse off for our charity."

The lard of a man agreed and the fae let out the breath she had been holding. As if on cue another baby in the other room began to cry. The couple moved out of the kitchen and put their new charge out of their minds.

The little faerie growled as she watched them go and lightly jumped unto the table, sitting next to the basket.

The contract was not yet fulfilled.

She had hoped, desperately, that the child would be safe with his family and she would be allowed to leave. She plied all her innate skills of manipulation and cunning to find a loophole but found none.

There was tremendous power given to her, but it was so singular in use that she was left with no other options. She had to remain with the boy.

Protect him.

She sneered as she looked at the smelly human and the red mark in the shape of a lighting bolt on his once sooth forehead. It didn't mean she had to like the creature, she supposed. He, after all, was the cause of this semi slavery.

The baby began to whimper and the fae rocked the basket back and forth without realizing and continued to grumble about her fate.

The five year old Harry winced as the plate slipped out of his hands and crashed to the ground. He scrambled off the chair he had been standing on as he did the dishes as Vernon lumbered into the kitchen red-faced.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE BOY!" he yelled. The child curled into a ball and trembled under the shadow of the man.

The fae jumped up from the floor where she had been making all the edges of the glass dull and unable to cut.

The hair stood up on the back of her neck.

"Don't hurt him!" she screeched "It was an accident!"

"YOU IDIOT! We take you in and this is WHAT WE GET!?" He continued and she knew her words had nothing to latch unto in the man. He bent over and grabbed the little boy roughly by the arm. Harry yelped in pain and she tried to conjure the blasting destructive force of her power.

But this was the home of the only blood connection of the magic's progenitor. It was not a sentient thing and it would not obey her. Not in this house.

He was shaking the boy now and she jumped onto his back.

"Don't leave bruises!" she hissed deadly and quiet as she latched unto the only thing she had to work with.

What would the neighbors say?" she continued. "If you strike him they will find out." She made it sound like a certainty. "When he starts school, all those nosey, good-for-nothing teachers and their prying eyes will surely notice."

Vernon stopped shaking the boy but did not let him go.

"They won't understand the boy's ungratefulness and his…abnormality." She said "They'll ask questions if they see marks. So best not to get into the habit."

The large man dropped the now crying child unto the ground.

"Clean up this mess, boy." He spat the last word.

"Then go to your cupboard." said the fae, wanting to get Harry out of the man's reach.

"Then go to your cupboard."

The fae jumped off his shoulders as he stomped out of the kitchen. But she did not land with the grace and ease she was used to; instead she fell to her knees and groaned.

She hadn't thrown-up in decades but she wanted to right then and there. Touching such negative and dark emotions was something she swore she would never do.

Dark magic never left anyone untainted. She cringed against the pain that some evil creatures sought like a drug and looked up at Harry, who had begun to clean up.

"Be careful of the glass, Harry dear." She rasped quietly.

**A/N: Please feel free to review and critique.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter

Chapter three: The Price, part 2

Petunia stood over the trashcan and contemplated the leftovers in her hand,

"It is a waste of perfectly good food." Said the fae crouched on the counter next to her. "Dudley and Vernon won't eat it if it's not fresh so why not give it to the boy?"

The horse-faced woman narrowed her eyes and the fae sighed.

He's like a mongrel anyway." She said. "What's more normal than tossing scraps to a dog?"

That convinced her and the fae closed her eyes against the now familiar oily feeling that dark magic left her with. Petunia scraped the food into a bowl and put it in front of the cupboard door before banging on it.

It opened a crack and a small hand slipped out and grabbed the bowl as she walked away.

"Poisonous bitch." Said the fae loudly and the boy in the cupboard snorted in amusement as he thought of his new favorite nickname for his aunt.

The fae sat against the door of the cupboard where the ten year-old slept. Her hair had once been the purest white. She had once spent her nights in the company of unicorns and danced under the sparkling light of the full moon who smiled and called her its daughter.

Not a single white hair was left to her. Even the red was barely visible among the strands that were now as black as pitch.

They had turned dark one hair at a time. If she held them up one by one, she could have described just how she had absorbed or deflected the cruelty of her boy's relatives in each instance.

Evil always left a stain.

She did not dare go outside in the full moon now.

The boy began to shift in his cupboard and she quickly opened the door.

"Shh." She said leaning in as close as she dared. Her hand hovering over his forehead as if to caress it. She had not touched the child since she had noticed her fingernails beginning to blacken.

Softly, she began to sing a lullaby she learned from a she-wolf spirit when she had spent a winter in her cave with her cubs.

It was low and had no words, but it was his favorite and the only song that comforted him these days.

As his eyes continued to grow far older than his body, she knew that even this song would soon cease to do that for him.

Evil always left a stain.

No matter how hard she tried to protect him from it.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or the poem.

_Scene: A circle of Druidic stones_

First Fairy: Afar from our lawn and our levee,  
>O sister of sorrowful gaze!<br>Where the roses in scarlet are heavy  
>And dream of the end of their days,<br>You move in another dominion  
>And hang o'er the historied stone:<br>Unpruned in your beautiful pinion  
>Who wander and whisper alone.<p>

All: Come away while the moon's in the woodland,  
>We'll dance and then feast in a dairy.<br>Though youngest of all in our good band,  
>You are wasting away, little fairy.<p>

Second Fairy: Ah! cruel ones, leave me alone now  
>While I murmur a little and ponder<br>The history here in the stone now;  
>Then away and away I will wander,<br>And measure the minds of the flowers,  
>And gaze on the meadow-mice wary,<br>And number their days and their hours-

All: You're wasting away, little fairy.

Second Fairy: O shining ones, lightly with song pass,  
>Ah! leave me, I pray you and beg.<br>My mother drew forth from the long grass  
>A piece of a nightingle's egg,<br>And cradled me here where are sung,  
>Of birds even, longings for aery<br>Wild wisdoms of spirit and tongue.

All: You're wasting away, little fairy.

First Fairy [turning away]: Though the tenderest roses were round you,  
>The soul of this pitiless place<br>With pitiless magic has bound you-  
>Ah! woe for the loss of your face,<br>And the loss of your laugh with its lightness-  
>Ah! woe for your wings and your head-<br>Ah! woe for your eyes and their brightness-  
>Ah! woe for your slippers of red.<p>

We'll dance and then feast in a dairy.  
>Though youngest of all in our good band,<br>She's wasting away, little fairy.

William Butler Yeats, "The Fairy Pendant"

Chapter four: Fate

The one greatest thing that the fae hated about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was that she was not allowed onto the grounds. She stood as close to the edge of the Forbidden Forest as the wards would let her and stared and the castle that her Harry now lived in.

She supposed that it was a good thing that no fae or magical creatures could step unto the grounds. Well there was that troll, but he was _let _in. She knew that many of her brethren would delight in a similar chance to torment wizard children.

Still…

She picked at her black claw like nails and sighed. No, she wouldn't want her around children either.

Didn't stop other unsavory characters from being allowed in though, besides the troll, she thought jumping unto a tree branch and sitting down in a huff. The green in her eyes allowed her to see out of the green in Harry's.

At first she enjoyed seeing what he did and it had made her happy to see him making friends and eating in that large room. Until she suddenly felt the evil. Heat rose up from within her and Harry winced in pain as his scar responded. That dark man was glaring at him.

She could only see what the boy could and she had wanted to tear her hair out to make him look around. It might have been caused by the man in black, it might have been another. She could not influence the child from out in the forest.

The fae crossed her arms and let her leg dangle.

She and the boy had eventually learned that the dark man was the potions master and she now felt even more inclined to believe that he was the cause. Sure, she wasn't allowed in to be around children but that kind of man was allowed to teach rooms of students.

She sneered.

He couldn't fool her, she knew he was tainted. Even without being in the room, she could feel the bitterness and darkness rolling off him.

The professor knew it too.

She recognized the way he avoided contact, physical and emotional and she was glad of it. If anyone like herself or the potions master dared to so much as lay a finger on her charge, she would see to it that they no longer had fingers.

Drumming her own fingers on her arm she wondered what kind of creature she would become if she ate someone else's fingers.

The sun began to set and she watched the half-giant come out of his hut and prepare for the children's detention. Her shoulders relaxed and she allowed a smile to flit across her face when she finally saw the boy.

She jumped unto Hagrid's shoulder and rode there with her chin in her hands and listened to her boy chat with his friends. The unicorn that had been killed last Wednesday had thrown all the creatures in the forest into turmoil, but the fae had kept to herself. She was hardly fit for their company and she wanted to avoid the pure creatures having to tell her directly not to talk to them.

Harry was the only exception she would make, but that was as long as he never knew.

Something evil moved in the trees and her head shot up straight.

"Hargrid! Hide the children!" she shouted into his ear.

"GET BEHIND THAT TREE!" yelled the man, interrupting whatever he had been saying to the little girl next to Harry.

Hermoine, the fae absently vaguely remembered the girl's name as she scanned the forest; every sense tingling and alert. Hagrid had his crossbow out…Nothing. But she would not sit back down as Hagrid walked on with the children. She only relaxed slightly as the centaur, Ronan, came out and began to talk with Hagrid.

The centaur could see her, of course, as she stood on the half-giant's shoulder. Anyone completely free of human blood would always be able to see her. He had the decency to act like he could though.

She kept her face neutral as he spoke.

"Always the innocent are the first victims." He said "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

She tensed.

"Yeah," said Hagrid "But have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight. Unusually bright?" he said.

The fae lowered her head and took a deep breath. That was the second time he said it. Hagrid was growing annoyed but the centaur said it a third time. A second centaur came out.

"Mars is bright tonight." He said as well and she clenched her fists and snarled. They did not react, they, after-all, knew that her ire was not directed at them.

Mars was the bringer of war and she got the message.

Hagrid kept walking with the children but she jumped down and remained; staring at the centaurs with a determined glare.

"Tell me the boy's fate." She demanded. They looked at her dark features and she could see the pity in their eyes. She pinched her lips and looked away, knowing that she was not what she once was and hating them for knowing it as well.

"Tell me." She growled.

"You are not tied to the boy as you once thought." Said Ronan softly. "'Come away while the moon's in the woodland, / We'll dance and the feast in a dairy / Though youngest of all in our good band, / You are wasting away, little fairy.'"

"Do not sing my songs!" she spat, feeling her whole body beginning to tremble. She took a deep breath.

"I promised to protect him." She said firmly "What fae have you ever known to go back to go back on their word?"

They averted their gaze.

Her eyes flashed and she saw through Harry's eyes as a hooded creature, mouth dripping with unicorn's blood, crept towards him.

"Harry!" she screeched and took off running. Those damn centaurs, they easily overtook her and sped before her. She cursed them for their shallow and meaningless overtures of sympathy and help.

She stopped next to them as they argued with a third of their kind. This one had Harry on his back and left after angry words to take the boy out of the Forest. The fae stood there breathing heavily for a moment, eyes closed and too relieved and too close to tears to do anything else.

When she opened her eyes she couldn't help but see the slain unicorn. Slowly, she walked up to the beautiful creature and fell to her knees before it horrible death scene.

She knew this one.

A tortured sob was ripped from her throat and she felt hot tears on her cheeks.

Since a foal she knew him. She had watched and laughed in joy as he took his first stumbling steps. Slept curled next to him and his mother after nights filled with dancing and moonlight.

She rocked back and forth as her fingers dug into the ground and her sobs filled the night air. She did not even care that the centaurs still watched her.

"You asked what the boy's fate was." Said one of them "Know that if you stay with him, you will experience this grief once more, in this very forest."

She covered her face her face with her dirt covered hands and curled into a ball.

'_Ah! cruel ones, leave me alone now.'_

"SOD OFF!" she yelled into the dirt.

_'While I murmur a little and ponder'_

Her breath came in broken gasps.

"I won't, I won't l-let that happen." She whispered.

_'The history in the stone now,_

_Then away and away I will wander,'_

She put her hands on the ground and used them to steady herself as she put her feet beneath her. Standing, she lurched before regaining her balance. They were leaving now. Hell if she cared, she needed to find Harry. He needed her.

_'And measure the minds of the flowers,_

_And gaze on the meadow mice wary,'_

No matter what fate lay ahead for him.

_'And number their days and their hours—'_

She stumbled and caught herself on a tree trunk. The fae took deep breaths and looked up at the sky through the branches. She would rage against the stars if she had to.

_'You're wasting away, little fairy.'_

**A/N: Thank you to those that reviewed for your encouragement. Everyone, please feel free to continued to share your thoughts, feelings and critiques.**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter.

Chapter five: Promise

He went after the sorcerer's stone and at first the fae was happy that he at least had the foresight to bring along his friends. They would most likely help him see the foolishness and danger that the entire endeavor was comprised of. They were children after-all and once they saw the difficulty of the task they would give up and return to their beds.

Now she cursed them.

"Chess? Wizard's chess?" she growled, pacing back and forth as if caged. "Did they poll his classmates for their strengths before they set up these protections or something?!"

She threw up her hands and sat down on her haunches. She growled in displeasure as the little red-headed boy won the game by sacrificing himself.

Something inside her was thrumming. A swelling heat that stole away any semblance of thought stretched across her mind and filled her with blank certainty of what was to come.

A smirk was the last expression to grace her face as the Granger girl pondered the riddle with the potions. It was a decent one, but posed no challenge. The child would probably be able to hold her own in the company of faeries. Thought the fae. They did love their word games. She shook her head and stopped thinking as the boy began to speak to Quirrell.

The heat was the only thing in her mind when she heard her enemy's voice once more.

So he did dare.

She wasn't looking through Harry's eyes anymore, she became something undefinable again and she was there with Harry. Somewhere in the green of his eyes, where his mother resided.

"How touching." the evil face on the back of Quirrell's head hissed. "I always value bravery…Yes, boy, you parents were brave…I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight…but your mother needn't have died…she was trying to protect you…Now give me the stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!" they screamed.

The enemy tried to hold unto the boy and she felt every red hair on her head burst into flames. In the back of her head she acknowledged that Harry was in pain but she could not help but be delighted at the sight of Quirrell's blistering flesh.

Rage and delight.

Dancing in her mind as the man dared to touch her boy again.

Then the boy was grabbing the enemy and she used every ounce of the fire she had been given to reduce the man to ash.

Suddenly she was standing by herself, panting and staring at what used to be a man.

Where was she?

She looked around.

"HARRY!" she screamed and threw herself down next to him. "Harry!" she yelled again as she turned him over. Oh Merlin, she had hurt him. She grimaced with clenched teeth as her hand shook and hovered over his forehead. Clenching her hand in a fist, she closed her eyes and fought herself for a moment.

"Harry." She said, voice breaking as she brought her fist back and hugged it to her chest. Instead she reached out with her magic and felt for his life. It thrummed steadily and greeted her happily.

She took a steadying breath. In, deeply filling her lungs and out, shaking as it went. She could do this.

She looked up sharply as a man in black ran to Harry's side. Through narrowed lids, she watched as he knelt next to the boy and looked him up and down for injuries with a frantic expression.

Snape's hand went to touch the boy's forehead and the fae nearly hissed. She didn't have to though; the potion master's hand froze before it came in contact with the boy. Slowly he curled his fingers into a fist and withdrew his hand.

Snape watched the sleeping child's face and the realization of the kind of man she was looking at dawned upon her.

"That's right." She said "We don't get to touch him with love and affection."

She reached across the boy and grabbed his robes in her fist.

"We are here to protect him and we will do it the best we can. Even if it hurts him in the process."

Magic was not required for this promise. She could feel it already living within the dark man; her words only strengthening his resolution.

"Now pick up the boy and take him to the infirmary."

She released the black fabric with a disdainful shove and lost consciousness.

**A/N: Please review. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six: The Fairy Pendant

The fae woke up back at Harry's "home" once he had returned there for the summer.

"Damn blood wards." She muttered even as she felt them restoring her strength as she crouched on the corner of Harry's small room. She took a deep breath and tried to release all the bone deep ache that permeated her entire body. It took energy to move, to breath, even to think.

Energy she needed to save for protecting Harry now that the enemy had returned. From now on it would be a completely different fight than it had been for the last ten years. She just needed enough energy right now to perform one last spell. Or series of spells that is.

With clenched teeth she hulled herself to her feet and stood there swaying until the room stopped spinning. She leaned her head back, face to the ceiling and eyes closed.

Breath in.

Out.

In.

She rolled her neck to the side and listened to it crack. Things would be better this way.

With a now steady step, she walked over to Hedwig's caged and opened to door. Harry was in the garden at the moment and she needed to get this done before he came back to the room.

"Do you understand what you have to do, snowy one?" she asked.

The owl hooted and ruffled her feathers. Of course she knew what to do! Wasn't the boy also under her care? Hedwig nipped at the fae's fingers and she smiled.

"Yes, yes. I trust you. Don't look at me like that, now."

The fae closed her eyes once more and gathered the magic around her. The owl flapped her wings as she contributed to the spell.

Eventually she settled down on her perch and hopped out of the cage. Right where the fae had been standing was a small druidic stone with a hole in the middle. As she watched a leather band appeared through the hole and the stone glowed white the faded back to dark gray; now covered with runes.

She swooped down and gathered the pendant in her claws before settling on top of her cage to wait. When the sun had begun to set, Harry shuffled into his room and threw himself unto his bed.

Hedwig hooted at him. With a tired sigh he looked up at his familiar.

"Sorry, girl. I wasn't able to snag any food. I'll let you out to hunt in a bit okay? We just have to wait for it to get dark out so Uncle Vernon doesn't notice."

She hooted again and fluttered to his bed, landing on his stomach. Bobbing her head up and down, she cackled at him.

Harry sat up confused and she flew back to her cage. He looked down and picked up the necklace up by its leather string and studied it for a moment. He glanced at Hedwig uncertainly and she bobbed her head.

He looked at the stone again and made a face then leaned to the side to put the stone on the desk next to his bed. Hedwig hissed and beat her wings. He quickly straightened, necklace still in his hand.

He stared at her and she looked right back at him, intense yellow eyes unblinking.

"You want me to put it on?" he asked. She bobbed her head once.

Harry looked at the necklace again, turning it over in his hands. He would never admit out loud that he trusted his owl more than he did most people. But he did. He shrugged and slipped the leather strap over his head.

And promptly forgot that it existed.

He scowled in confusion and wondered what he had been thinking about as he stared at Hedwig. But she was nonchalantly preening her feathers.

Harry shrugged and lay back down on his bed, oblivious of the fairy pendant he now wore.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter.

Chapter seven:

It bothered her not being completely aware all the time, but she knew that in her dormant state, she would act like a protection charm. Minimizing harm.

And she could be with him wherever he was. Not just standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and watching.

Meanwhile she dreamed of the things that happened around her and if the danger ever reached beyond a certain point; she would wake up.

Like, if he ever found himself surrounded by giant spiders…

"We'll just go then." Harry called desperately to Aragog. The fae had jumped back quickly as soon as she has materialized and began working madly on an escape route. She sensed a charm close by and the smell of iron.

"Go?" she heard Aragog slowly say "I think not…"

She gritted her teeth and sped in the direction on what she suspected was close by, hissing at any spider in her way. They barely noticed her as they crept closer to the smell of the young boys and fresh meat.

She nearly screamed in pain as she touched the iron door handle of the Angelina and jumped in. It sprang to life under touch and the charms responded to her intent.

Mr. Weasley's car thundered down the slope, knocking spiders to the side as she laid on the horn and pushed to sick feeling from the iron to the back of her mind.

It screeched to a halt next to the boys and the doors flew open.

"GET IN!" she yelled and slammed the doors closed once the children and the useless hound they had brought were in and stepped on the gas. She was barley tall enough to reach the pedals and quickly made herself taller.

Cleverly, she steered the car through the widest gaps, following the path in the forest that she knew well. She stoically ignored the howling dog in the backseat and the two frightened boys as they tore through the undergrowth. She did not dare look back to see how closely they were followed and was just as glad when to side-view mirror broke off when she got too close to a tree.

Her hands loosened their grip on the steering wheel as the trees thinned. She then did glance at the rearview mirror and braked suddenly when she looked back. The car jolted to a halt at the edge of the forest, nearly throwing her passengers through the windshield.

She took a shaky breath. She had almost forgotten that the wards would not have let her on the grounds in her present form. Fang and the boys climbed out of the car after a moment. Harry gave the car a grateful pat and the fae rolled her eyes; her arm hanging out the driver's side window.

"Right then." She drawled "I'll just go park the car, shall I?"

She reversed the car back in to the forest and drove it out if view.

The fae woke again to find herself staring into the eyes of the enemy. No, that wasn't quite right. She inhaled deeply through her nose. This one looked young and smelled like a shadow, a memory.

And he was chatting with Harry.

The fire in her would not help her in this instance she thought as she crouched on the ground and took in her surroundings. Suddenly she sensed something moving beneath her feet.

She breathed in sharply this time and tensed as she recognized the ancient smell of the creature that had yet to show itself. She stood up, panic painfully filling her mind and sharp teeth bared in a defensive snarl. She let out a shrill cry; a sound too high for any human ear but it would be heard throughout the entire castle.

It was a call for help.

She could not fight a basilisk alone and if there were any allies at all close by, they would answer its call. The old snake stirred once more at the noise but stayed put as its master was bragging. The fae wished she could smack the memory that called itself Riddle in the mouth, but that just let the thing notice her.

Soon the music of a phoenix filled the chamber and landed in the boys shoulder. The memory laughed at them as Harry held the sorting hat in his hands but the fae gave the fiery bird a respectful nod.

If this was all she had to work with then she would make do. She stood in front of Harry, face grim and determined as the serpent came forth.

Harry scrambled backwards and fell down in his fright and she glanced back at him. Smart boy, he had his eyes closed.

"GO FOR ITS EYES FAWKES!" she screamed and turned around in time to see the snake lunge for her and the boy. She pushed out a surge of magic that exploded against the side of its head. The force knocked her and the boy to the side but it also caused the basilisk to rear its head. Fawkes took his chance and swooped in, pecking the creatures eyes into a bloody mess.

Riddle was screaming at the serpent and the fae crouched protectively in front of the boy. She was taller than him now, she absently realized.

"Help me, help me." Harry muttered wildly and her chest clenched at the sound of his fear.

"Someone— anyone—."

She needed to do something.

Fawkes was still distracting the beast and the fae hesitated before dashing away from Harry. The basilisk swept its tail and hit her full in the chest as she grabbed the sorting hat. She landed next to Harry and so a moment could not breathe as she threw the thing in his face. Air rushed back into her lungs in a gasp. She knew why Fawkes had brought the hat even if the enemy did not.

"Put-put it…" she struggled to speak but the tail was swinging at her again and she threw herself over the boy and onto the ground. "Put it on!"

He did and soon he was standing back up with the sword of Gryffindor in his hand. She stood next to him and took a couple of deep breaths.

"You're really lucky I dated a goblin once, Harry. Taught me a couple things with a sword." She said as she grabbed his chin and looked directly into his eyes. "Now copy exactly what I do."

She took a step back and Harry mirrored the dueling stance that she took. The basilisk lunged and they dodged as it hit the chamber wall. It lunged again and they held their ground; braced for impact and thrust the sword into the serpents open mouth.

The basilisk reared its head once more, knocking the fae to the side as Harry slid down the wall. She watched as he pulled the basilisk's fang out of his arm and fear lanced through her heart for a dread second.

Fawkes flew over and began crying into the wound. The fae fell to her knees and laughed weakly.

"Okay, I didn't date that goblin for that long." She confessed thinking about her less than adequate swordplay. She ran her hands over her face and looked up when she heard a bang. Damn, it was getting hard to pay attention.

Fawkes fluttered away from the boy and Riddle was now standing over him.

Talking.

Gracious, did he ever stop?

She swore and scooped up the dairy. She could feel how the memory was still bound to it, though less and less each moment. She tossed it to Fawkes and he dropped it in Harry's lap.

"Stab the ruddy thing!" she screeched and was pleased to see Harry seize the basilisk's fang and plunge it into the diary.

The memory died and she swore she felt something…something odd. She looked over at Harry who was rushing over to the girl that still lay on the chamber floor. She smiled at him and closed her eyes. As she went back to sleep she transformed and returned to hang protectively around her boy's neck.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. It won't be everyday anymore but I will try to be consistent. Please review.**

**I am thinking about changing the name of the story. Should I? Suggestions are welcome.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter or the poem by Mr. Yeats._

Chapter eight: Wounds

Black was causing a big ruckus and over the next year the fae only peaked her eye open a couple a times. Then with an annoyed huff she would go back to sleep. Honestly, she did not know how human's got along each day when they could not tell when another's blood-lust was for themselves or for another.

She knew for a certainty that he was not after Harry and the red-headed child's rat was not any of her concern. It, itself, was a pathetic creature and no match for her. So she slept, trying to relieve a weariness deep in her core that only real danger could make her ignore.

She awoke with a jolt.

"Holy hell, Harry! Is that a werewolf?!" she yelled, turning towards him. A dog bounded past her and jumped at the transforming man. She looked around, trying to make sense of it all. Snape was unconscious and she took a second to resent him for it. Then the other man was transforming back into a rat.

What is going on? She thought wildly.

Then there was more transforming and yelling and… her shoulders sagged.

The fae walked over to the where the two snarling canines were wrestling each other and slapped the werewolf on the snout. It made an indignant sound and paused in it's fight.

"Go play!" she ordered pointing towards the forest and it bounded off, chased by the black dog. She sighed and squatted on the ground, staring listlessly at it. She was still so tired.

_Child, where have you been?_

Every muscle in her body tensed as she realized that she was sitting bathed in the pale light of the full moon.

_Child…_

NO!

The fae jumped up and sprinted for the Forest, where the trees would keep her in shadow. Somewhere in the distance Harry was shouting for the one called Sirius, but it did not matter.

She had to hide.

Hide.

Hide!

Desperate gasps tried to become sobs and the fae tripped. Scrambling in the leaves and brush she crawled into dark refuge under the large root of a tree. In the distance a child called out in fear. It reached her ears at the same volume as the moon's calls for her.

She pressed her hands over her ears as she trembled in the dirt.

Forget me, mother! She pleaded. Forget the daughter you used to have.

She had changed; had become tainted and could not bare her mother seeing her ruined state.

…_can you forget your own child?_ Came the most gentle whisper.

…_listen. He needs you._

"…expecto… expecto patronum…"

She forgot herself, crawled out of her hole and ran to the boy who was surrounded by darkness. Skidding to a halt, her head snapped back and forth between the time-displaced Harrys.

_The older._ Said the moon. The fae wasted no time to reach him as he stepped out to help his younger self.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled and she felt her mother impart a gift to her that she immediately transferred to Harry.

A brilliant, silver animal that shined as brightly as the moon above leapt from his wand. The dazzling stag rushed forward and chased the cloaked forms of despair away. They both stared at the beautiful creature as it turned and stood before Harry.

"Prongs!" he whispered and the fae understood. His father also gave his life that night years ago.

She closed her eyes and lowered her head as the children took Buckbeak and left. She stayed where she was, under the watchful glow of the moon's pale light. She did not crouch anymore; she didn't cower, but stood with back straight and heart resigned.

The moon waited silently until the fae lifted her sad eyes to gaze at her.

"Mother…" she said, voice cracking.

_Shh, child, shh. You worry about nothing._

"But- but I'm—" she spread her arms as if to present her entire body as evidence.

_Do I not, myself, sleep and live in a black sky? Is not my face one of many scars?_

The fae's hands shook as she bit her lips and looked down.

_We walk through darkness and pain for the ones we love._

"Mother." She said, all her hope and desire to still be loved in that one word.

_Dance for me._

The little faerie's sob came out, half transformed into a laugh and she smiled weakly. With a deep breath she looked up and began to sing with the tune the stars played for her.

"'O shining ones, lightly with song pass,

Ah, leave me, I pray you and beg.'"

She stepped and turned, her limbs remembering their former grace.

"'My mother drew forth from the long grass

A piece of a nightingale's egg,

And cradled me here where are sung,'"

Tears fell from her eyes and glistened in the moonlight. It wasn't the same.

She wasn't the same.

"'Of birds even, longings for aery

Wild wisdoms of spirit and tongue.'"

But that was okay.

**A/N: Please review!**


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